Now we are in November, I think it is safe to say Christmas fever is about to take over for the rest of the year. Personally, I am totally here for it. I absolutely love Christmas. It is such a magical time of year and with children too, it really does bring the magic back.
However, we all know, as the grown-ups, that Christmas is stressful. There is a lot to remember, a lot to do and keep on top of.
Of course, with absolutely everything I talk about, they key is in the planning. With Christmas, the earlier the better. It is going to be busy. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just get to the social bit of Christmas completely prepared so you can relax and enjoy it?
Here are my 5 top tips to doing just that. My 5 top tips to get organised for Christmas.
- Christmas calendar
Grab a calendar. A big one. A month to view one and stick it up somewhere. Your fridge (if possible) is ideal for this. Now start filling it in with days that you want to keep for yourself/ as a family. Then add days where you may need to go shopping, cleaning, wrapping etc and pop them in now. That way you won’t run out of time to do it. You can block out days where you may be at work/ school etc that are no go days for anything Christmassy. Now, you can start filling in with the fun stuff. Christmas events, social events etc.
Once your calendar is complete, you are done. Any new events, invites that come your way, you will know whether you are free at a glance. Don’t try and squeeze things in, to the point where you will be so stressed out you don’t enjoy it. It is Ok to say no to things. Christmas is supposed to be a time to have fun, not be miserable.
- Present idea list
Before you even go shopping, you need a list. Pick an evening to write out all the names of those you need to buy gifts for, the budget for them (see the next step) and an idea for the kind of gift you would like to get them. I block out a couple of evenings for this. I turn off the TV, crack out my laptop and go down the list and browse with each person in mind and write down a couple of ideas for them. This is before I even think about shopping (online or in person). That way, when you do start your shopping, you will get it done much quicker, you will know the kind of place you need to go shopping and are much more likely to stick to your budget than if you hadn’t gone with a plan. No more stress shopping after being out on several different trips looking for inspiration and coming back empty handed.
- Budget
Now, this is one we should really be doing in January. However, it is never too late to take a look at your budget. The statistics are scary for how many people get in debt over Christmas (check out my previous post – 10 steps to a debt free Christmas) and without a budget, things can easily get out of control. If you haven’t planned ahead, you need to take a look right now at how many more pay days you have between now and Christmas (likely only one or two) and how much disposable income you will have left. This is your absolute maximum budget. You then need to decide how much of that budget is for gifts, how much is for social events and how much is for Christmas food. Once you know this, you can put those pockets of money to one side and narrow down even further within each category.
Of course, the earlier you start this in the year, the better your budget will be so be sure to check out the full blog post (10 steps to a debt free Christmas) as this is often the most stressful part.
- Make a plan and master list
Grab a piece of paper, doesn’t need to be fancy and write down EVERYTHING that you need to do, to be Christmas ready. That way, you know nothing will get forgotten and you won’t be waking up in a cold sweat on Christmas eve because you have forgotten to buy the carrots. At the top of that piece of paper I want you to write your goal for Christmas. You are now ready to turn that into a plan.
You know the big deadline but give everything on that list a deadline and a rough timeline on how long it will take to complete. Re-order your list and if you need to break each of those tasks down into further smaller tasks, please do. For example, if you have just written down “buy Christmas presents” that probably needs breaking down a bit further.
- Declutter early
You know your home is about to get filled with gifts, decorations, extra food and probably people too. It is time to clear some space for it all. If you have children, then purging their toys ready for the new ones is especially useful. I won’t go into too much detail here but, if you would like some help with decluttering, you can download my free guide; 4 steps to declutter success, here. If you are new to decluttering and would like to know more about the benefits, you can read an earlier blog post here too.
So that is it. 5 top tips to get organised for Christmas. I hope you found them useful. Remember it is all very well and good reading about it, but the real change happens when you put it into practice. Let me know how you get on!
The Organised Co. 